COVID had widened the gap between world's richest and poorest

[Wakate]

During the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic, a new billionaire was minted every 30 hours, according to a new report by Oxfam International. The report, called “Profiting from Pain”, highlights how the pandemic rapidly widened the gap between the world’s richest and poorest - with 573 of the world’s richest people becoming billionaires during that time.

Meanwhile, the pandemic has created new pharmaceutical billionaires, profiting from the monopolies their companies hold over vaccines, treatments, tests, and personal protective equipment, the report said. “As billionaires gather in Davos, Switzerland, in person for the first time in over two years, they have a lot to celebrate. During the COVID-19 pandemic their mountain of wealth has reached unprecedented and dizzying heights. The pandemic – full of sorrow and disruption for most of humanity – has been one of the best times in recorded history for the billionaire class,” read the report.



The chart unveils four key points:
https://blogs.imf.org/2021/11/09/the-unequal-covid-saving-and-wealth-surge/

-The overall increase in net wealth, in percent of disposable income, was considerably larger during the pandemic (between the end of 2019 and the second quarter of 2021) than during normal times (between the end of 2014 and end of 2019).

-It was driven mainly by valuation changes (due to booming equity and housing prices) as well as, to some extent, by the “COVID saving surge” (with a jump in “other assets,” including bank deposits).

-This overall increase in net wealth was also unevenly distributed, with much of it accruing to people at the top of the distribution. Indeed, the equity price boom mostly benefitted the rich, while lockdowns more heavily affected spending on dining and travel, which make a larger part of wealthier households’ consumption habits. Additionally, government support, in the form of direct stimulus or support to firms, also benefitted the saving of wealthier households compared to poorer households that were more likely to spend the extra cash.

-At the same time, the distribution of wealth across groups did not change much, as the increases in net wealth were relatively in line with the pre-pandemic shares in the wealth distribution.


In 2022, it is expected that millions of people with fall into extreme poverty every 33 hours. According to the report, 263 million people are predicted to fall into extreme poverty this year, citing the cost of living crisis as one of the many driving factors. While the billionaires who control these assets are set to profit even more, Oxfam warns hundreds of millions could be priced out of staying alive.

Oxfam International’s investigations also concluded that 2,668 billionaires own $12.7 trillion (€11.91 trillion) of the planet’s wealth, with the world’s 10 richest men owning more than the poorest 3.1 billion people on earth. The report highlighted key industries which are thriving throughout the cost of living crisis. For instance, whilst global food prices have spiralled 33.6 per cent in the last year, global food giant Cargill has increased their wealth by $14.4 billion (€13.49 billion), 65 per cent since 2020.

https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/05/25/covid-created-a-new-billionaire-every-30-hours-while-many-face-extreme-poverty-report-says

[Rruchi man]

Additionally, government support, in the form of direct stimulus or support to firms, also benefitted the saving of wealthier households compared to poorer households that were more likely to spend the extra cash.

Government support has also been better in developed countries and countries with little corrupt public officials when compared to the less developed and countries where their public officials have little interest in the welfare of it's citizens. Countries where stimulus packages was distributed to their citizens and business in a bid to assist are having the economic effects of COVID a lot lesser than countries where no stimulus packages where sent. The poor who were managing the little they had before the virus in such countries like mine are now faced with the reality of the very high standard of living and the rich who previously had establishments like the food industry and Real Estate are taking a full swipe at the situation and are getting richer.

So yes, Bad governance and some government's inability to provide assistance amidst the rising cost of living has aided COVID in widening the gap between the rich and the poor.

[kryptqnick]

This is very unfortunate. It does seem that bad events affect people with fewer resources more heavily than others, but it's another thing when someone is actually profiting from a situation that causes lots of suffering to others. I'm a social democrat, and I think that there should either be high taxes or, rather, other forms of contributing to society and giving those in most unfortunate circumstances a lift with one's fortune. Some people are so rich that neither they nor their children or close relatives will use up the wealth in their lifetimes. So, in fact, if they gave a very significant part of it away to something that matters (for example, a private high-quality university in a developing country with financial aid for bright students, building hospitals or organizing training for doctors where they are heavily needed, donating to highly reputable charities), and they could make the world a better place, which actually is likely to also give them joy because of giving meaning to their lives. It's really sad that many people don't see it this way, and don't feel inclined to bring about meaningful change instead of stacking up the wealth they'll never use. I think that the world, with strong coordinated efforts, could at least ensure people don't die from hunger. I hope at some point, we'll get there.

[fiulpro]

It also made some places for the people working in the pharmacology sector, the way the masks and sanitizers went like gold, they honestly made most money. I do some people who literally became rich because of the covid. Other than that most of the people are not able to afford the healthcare as well which means that they have to suffer the ill effects, honestly this is getting harder every movement because even right now there are new epidemic to be coming in various countries like in London we are seeing the Monkey Pox growing and it would be even worse because of the the jubilee now, these effects are only going to get worse until and unless care is taken and with the war in Ukraine - it's been terrible and getting even worse, pushing people below the poverty line.

[Sterbens]

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a disaster for the lower middle class and vice versa as a big big business sector for investors to pour funds into hospitals. Yes, the production of masks and hospital equipment is a big target. The victims are countless but behind the scenes, there are those who celebrate the gains. The world is full of settings controlled by a few wealthy owners which makes it difficult for those of us who can only follow rule after rule.

[Renampun]

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a disaster for the lower middle class and vice versa as a big big business sector for investors to pour funds into hospitals. Yes, the production of masks and hospital equipment is a big target. The victims are countless but behind the scenes, there are those who celebrate the gains. The world is full of settings controlled by a few wealthy owners which makes it difficult for those of us who can only follow rule after rule.

At my country's airport, passengers are required to wear masks, even though the use of masks has been abolished by my head of state...

many new rich people formed from selling masks, covid test kits and also vaccines. many hospitals supported by the government take advantage of this opportunity. in my country many have been caught using covid to enrich themselves, fortunately now the strict rules of covid have been relaxed.

[stomachgrowls]

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a disaster for the lower middle class and vice versa as a big big business sector for investors to pour funds into hospitals. Yes, the production of masks and hospital equipment is a big target. The victims are countless but behind the scenes, there are those who celebrate the gains. The world is full of settings controlled by a few wealthy owners which makes it difficult for those of us who can only follow rule after rule.

The ones who do gain up on that pandemic period.

1. Essentials
2. Hospital related
3. Online services related

You could really expect that to those people who do have money on make out some capital for these business in related on whats mentioned above
then you could really expect that they would really be making advantage of it to make profits or gain more.

Cant really be denied too that it do really affected lots of business too on different sectors thats why it does have its pro's and cons.

[Fortify]

During the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic, a new billionaire was minted every 30 hours, according to a new report by Oxfam International. The report, called “Profiting from Pain”, highlights how the pandemic rapidly widened the gap between the world’s richest and poorest - with 573 of the world’s richest people becoming billionaires during that time.

Meanwhile, the pandemic has created new pharmaceutical billionaires, profiting from the monopolies their companies hold over vaccines, treatments, tests, and personal protective equipment, the report said. “As billionaires gather in Davos, Switzerland, in person for the first time in over two years, they have a lot to celebrate. During the COVID-19 pandemic their mountain of wealth has reached unprecedented and dizzying heights. The pandemic – full of sorrow and disruption for most of humanity – has been one of the best times in recorded history for the billionaire class,” read the report.

The chart unveils four key points:
https://blogs.imf.org/2021/11/09/the-unequal-covid-saving-and-wealth-surge/

-The overall increase in net wealth, in percent of disposable income, was considerably larger during the pandemic (between the end of 2019 and the second quarter of 2021) than during normal times (between the end of 2014 and end of 2019).

-It was driven mainly by valuation changes (due to booming equity and housing prices) as well as, to some extent, by the “COVID saving surge” (with a jump in “other assets,” including bank deposits).

-This overall increase in net wealth was also unevenly distributed, with much of it accruing to people at the top of the distribution. Indeed, the equity price boom mostly benefitted the rich, while lockdowns more heavily affected spending on dining and travel, which make a larger part of wealthier households’ consumption habits. Additionally, government support, in the form of direct stimulus or support to firms, also benefitted the saving of wealthier households compared to poorer households that were more likely to spend the extra cash.

-At the same time, the distribution of wealth across groups did not change much, as the increases in net wealth were relatively in line with the pre-pandemic shares in the wealth distribution.


In 2022, it is expected that millions of people with fall into extreme poverty every 33 hours. According to the report, 263 million people are predicted to fall into extreme poverty this year, citing the cost of living crisis as one of the many driving factors. While the billionaires who control these assets are set to profit even more, Oxfam warns hundreds of millions could be priced out of staying alive.

Oxfam International’s investigations also concluded that 2,668 billionaires own $12.7 trillion (€11.91 trillion) of the planet’s wealth, with the world’s 10 richest men owning more than the poorest 3.1 billion people on earth. The report highlighted key industries which are thriving throughout the cost of living crisis. For instance, whilst global food prices have spiralled 33.6 per cent in the last year, global food giant Cargill has increased their wealth by $14.4 billion (€13.49 billion), 65 per cent since 2020.

https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/05/25/covid-created-a-new-billionaire-every-30-hours-while-many-face-extreme-poverty-report-says

One thing that many people still don't fully comprehend is how wealth generates way more wealth. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, or are barely able to add to your savings every month on a regular salaried job, the best you might be hoping for is home ownership which is fully paid off by retirement to become your nest egg. However once you reach a certain level of wealth, the money they hold on assets like company stocks will pay them out a regular dividend (i.e. a share of company profits) which is often automatically reinvested or can be used to sustain a lifestyle without ever breaking that initial capital. Their money buys further income while most people will never have that level of freedom.

[jossiel]

In 2022, it is expected that millions of people with fall into extreme poverty every 33 hours. According to the report, 263 million people are predicted to fall into extreme poverty this year, citing the cost of living crisis as one of the many driving factors. While the billionaires who control these assets are set to profit even more, Oxfam warns hundreds of millions could be priced out of staying alive.

This is currently happening. A lot of people already suffers from the effect of these world events, covid-19, Russia - Ukraine war and there goes the high price of oil which results to a high inflation rate.

I guess it will never change the fact that the rich will be richer and the poor gets poorer. We have to make our own way of survival from these catastrophies that's happening and making the lives of most harder.

We say that we don't have to rely on the government but they also have to take action which is necessary for the majority to at least ease the burden of most people that are living under the poverty line.

[Hydrogen]

I think trends of wealth and wage inequality have persisted for some time before COVID.



https://i.imgur.com/IrBKk5o.jpg

CEOs are extremely overpaid with some earning $10,000 an hour.

The logical step would be for CEOs and business executives to take pay cuts to give workers pay raises to balance out the economy.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

I think trends of wealth and wage inequality have persisted for some time before COVID.

Yes, it is. I don't think it was pandemic-specific, although there are some contributing factors of COVID such as those mentioned.

When you have a lot of money, it is easier to keep getting richer because you can consume a lot and have enough left over to keep investing. Someone with a medium or low income can make the effort to save and invest but most of the spending is consumption. If you invest a little bit, maybe tomorrow you will be better off financially but you won't have a lot of money. On the other hand, the very rich can invest a lot, and the ball gets bigger and bigger.

[Wexnident]

It's something that simply became more apparent since the source of money for the majority of the families in the lower classes was cut off abruptly, with them left to only accepting the stimulus support from the government. Rich people/families on the other hand had the chance to extend their hands to businesses that were booming during the pandemic such as pharmaceuticals, online selling, and other stuff that was the trend during the pandemic. It's like there was a pause button (heck it was even decreasing imo) for the poor while the rich had a fast-forward button.

Not that I'm saying the cause was only the pandemic, it just gave more opportunities for those with extra money to do business compared to ones who live from paycheck to paycheck.

[LoyceV]

The rich getting richer is no surprise. What does surprise me, is that "the poor" also got richer! So during a pandemic that disrupted the worldwide economy, everybody got richer? That can't be! Governments printed more money, which we now pay for through inflation.

[judaspriest]

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a disaster for the lower middle class and vice versa as a big big business sector for investors to pour funds into hospitals. Yes, the production of masks and hospital equipment is a big target. The victims are countless but behind the scenes, there are those who celebrate the gains. The world is full of settings controlled by a few wealthy owners which makes it difficult for those of us who can only follow rule after rule.

At my country's airport, passengers are required to wear masks, even though the use of masks has been abolished by my head of state...

many new rich people formed from selling masks, covid test kits and also vaccines. many hospitals supported by the government take advantage of this opportunity. in my country many have been caught using covid to enrich themselves, fortunately now the strict rules of covid have been relaxed.

It's really ironic to see that a disease or in this case Covid is used to enrich oneself,
I think things like that will always exist and they should really be dealt with firmly,
It's true that currently covid cases are also starting to decline and of course that's why policies and rules are starting to be relaxed

[coolcoinz]

Of course. It's common knowledge that people who had ties with the government and knew they were going to impose restrictions made a lot of money. One of the ways they did it was that they knew the government would make face masks mandatory outside. When they were only mandatory in government buildings and hospitals there was enough of them in stores and not all of us needed to buy them but once they made everyone wear them in the street the stores run out and the prices skyrocketed. You could buy these masks in China for 10% of what the retail price was when masks became mandatory. These scammers, because they were scammers as wearing masks outside when there's nobody near you is pointless, made millions.

[Oasisman]

The situations like the rich is getting even more richer and poor became more poorer has actually been happening even before the Covid time.
The most common reason is the consistent increase of price in daily necessities every year while the wages has also been consistent for 2-3 years before the government would do something to force the companies to put a raise.
Currently, it's going to be obvious and noticeable that most of the people who became extremely wealthy are those who were in the pharmaceutical industry. While, the majority has been suffering from low employment rate, temporary closure, and things like that during the peak of the pandemic.

[davis196]

I agree that the pharmaceutical industry benefited the most from the pandemic, but that was pretty much expected. What else did you expect? The people and the governments buying less drugs and vaccines in times of a global pandemic?
COVID isn't the main reason for the increasing inequality gap. The main reason are the fiscal and monetary policies of the big governments and central banks-quantitative easing, money printing, negative interest rates, tax loopholes, etc. The rich had access to an unlimited credit card, which pumped the prices of their assets, meanwhile avoiding tax payments legally is easier than ever( if you are rich and you have a good enough tax accountant). It's going to get worse in the upcoming years.

[Uang_kartal]

who is not familiar with the sale of vaccines and all those who are behind it in a country.
let's just say you know something in your country and you only know that information for you to be aware of. an impressive journey through history. also behind the policies that made the economy crippled and went out of business that made the personal business sector falter and created a new poverty rate, me too including those affected by anticipation and efforts when the virus came, he said.
those stats tickled friends, they took advantage of the formulas they might glorify… but the effects of all that from causation hurt some people and circles who weren't in that circle.
but hopefully it's the last and impressive century. no plague or whatever.

[hugeblack]

If you think that the worst is over, the worst is coming and strong, inflation reaching about 10% in advanced economies, and supply chain problems will increase the suffering of the middle class, as the cost of living will rise and thus less surplus money to invest, then the gap will increase dramatically as most of the income will go to cover the basics.

Therefore, I do not think that the epidemic is the cause, but rather how we deal with it, many countries did not have any plans to confront epidemics and were not actually prepared to know what they would do, and the health systems in many of those countries are collapsing, and therefore, after the Covid pandemic, we did not see much change, but the continuation of those Countries have the same approach in investing in energy, tourism, armies, and not in the health field.

[stompix]

The rich getting richer is no surprise. What does surprise me, is that "the poor" also got richer! So during a pandemic that disrupted the worldwide economy, everybody got richer? That can't be! Governments printed more money, which we now pay for through inflation.

Yeah, seems like everyone is ignoring that part and still focusing on the kulaks and the wealth that shouldn't be theirs.

But it's pretty understandable if ignore some cases that suffered the most and focus on the whole thing
- even low-income Americans spend money on eating out, and transportation, which was a no during the covid
- a lot received checks even if they continue working, a lot of lower-paid jobs are actually the ones who kept their employees and even raised wages
- rents went down, people fled the cities for cheap suburbs and villages, again more $

and yeah, it can be!

The situations like the rich is getting even more richer and poor became more poorer has actually been happening even before the Covid time. .

Read the graph again..